The 72nd U.S. Women’s Open starts Thursday in New Jersey – just 10 minutes down the road from the headquarters of the U.S. Golf Association.

The tournament is the oldest major championship on the LPGA Tour – and depending on who is doing the talking, the most important tournament on the LPGA Tour.

It started way back in 1946 when the great Patty Berg captured the title and when it became a “major championship” in 1950, Babe Zaharias won the whole thing.

There is however one potential problem.

The tournament is being played at Trump National Golf Club – and that’s enough to throw some people who aren’t golf people into a triple hissy.

It shouldn’t.

Donald Trump is the president of the United States.

Some people like that.

Others don’t.

And when you draw the line between those two groups of people, there really isn’t much gray area,

And those who don’t like him don’t like anything about him.

Not even the fact that he owns Trump National Golf Club – the host course for the 72nd U.S. Women’s Open.

There is already talk swirling about possible demonstrations even before the tournament opens Thursday.

To those folks I ask this:

Please don’t.

No matter how you feel about President Trump, this is just sports.

That’s all.

It doesn’t have anything to do with world politics, national politics or any other political ideology.

It’s just a bunch of young women practicing their chosen profession while also playing a game they love.

And there is nothing political about that.

In fact, the world might be a better place if it were run by athletes instead of politicians.

For in the world of athletics, the only thing that matters is the game.

Especially in golf – and especially the way it is played on the LPGA Tour.

For there is no sports organizations that brings players from all over the world together more than the LPGA Tour.

In the last 20 years of the U.S. Women’s Open, winners have come from five different countries and it’s expected that women from more than 18 different countries will be present on the first tee come Thursday.

And all of them are there because they want to be there.

And while living in this country does give an individual the right to peacefully – and there is a key word – assemble to make their feelings known, taking into consideration the feelings of those athletes and their beliefs should carry weight also.

I’ve seen politics ruin three Olympic Games and that wasn’t good for anyone involved.

In fact, the boycotts and violence that surrounded the Olympics in ’72, ‘80 and ’84 caused more problems than it solved.

And the last things any of us need are more problems.

Here’s hoping it comes off without a hitch and the world is able to stand up and cheer for the winner come Sunday afternoon.

Steve is a long time veteran golf writer. He's already on the far side of 70 - which explains how Steve Trivett started covering the PGA Tour in 1963. He's an award-winning journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, The late great Rocky Mountain News and The Villages Daily Sun. He once carried a single-digit handicap, but his ball striking finally reached the depth of his putting prowess.